Nigerian bank customers with domiciliary accounts are stranded as many banks complain that they do not have dollars.
The customers lament their inability to withdraw dollars from their domiciliary accounts amid what they describe as the worst scarcity of the currency in the financial services sector.
According to Legit, as of today, bank managers in 10 commercial branches in Ikeja, Ejigbo, Ago Palace, and Airport Road all confirmed the unavailability of dollars for withdrawal over the counter.
Worse hit are Nigerians who work for foreign companies full-time or as freelancers. They are said to have no option but to take loans in Naira to survive.
Speaking to journalists, one of the bank managers who spoke on conditions of anonymity confirmed the widespread problem.
He told customers that: “The dollars in your account is yours and you have the right to get their money without any excuse. However, there are some realities, so it depends on the branch where they are making the demand because if the branch does not have the dollar cash, they will have to get it from other locations.“
The bank manager made several calls to other branches for funds, but the situation remained the same.
Some of the frustrated customers shared their experiences and how it is now very difficult for them to go ahead with their daily lives.
Chinedu Eze who he works for a US firm said his bank had also failed to pay him money from his domiciliary account. He disclosed that the money in his domiciliary account is all he has to live on while lamenting his inability to access it.
According to him, “It is really embarrassing and shameful. Usually, I withdraw cash from the account to change to naira but I have been unable to do that for some time now. Every time I go to my bank, all I hear from the officials is that they are trying to source for funds but up till this moment, there has been no money.”
Another who simply identified himself as Segun said: “It is frustrating and I don’t know what else to do. I hope that the Central bank of Nigeria finds a solution soon, some of us are not finding it funny at all.”
Speaking on the situation, the Central bank of Nigeria recently admitted that the dollar was in short supply.
The apex bank blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) for the scarcity. It argued that NNPC is not remitting enough dollars from oil sales and this has increased pressure in the foreign exchange market.
On its part, NNPC revealed that in the first six months of 2022, over $2.7 billion was credited to the CBN account from oil sales.
The CBN speaking through the director, the research department at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Michael Adebayo Adebiyi assured Nigerians that the current Naira depreciation will soon be over.
Read also:
Outrage as Naira Crosses 700 to the Dollar
Customers Stranded as Dollars Vanish from Many Nigerian Banks
1 thought on “Customers Stranded as Dollars Vanish from Many Nigerian Banks”
Comments are closed.